The Girl in White Shoes
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjRrzLEjej
It was a sunny afternoon when she arrived.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqddcNPX5F
Anatasia watched from the window seat, curled into the corner like a forgotten doll, as a carriage pulled up in front of the house. The door opened, and a girl stepped out. About her age. Slender. Pale. A soft glow seemed to follow her like the sun was too eager to love her.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YbAsPo20w
She wore white shoes.
Not expensive.
Just... clean.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSNO1wF4he
Too clean for someone who had just lost her father.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOQbXUe94v
Anatasia’s lips twitched—not quite a smile, not quite a frown. Just confusion.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1xuexLeVn
Victor stepped out beside the girl, placing a hand gently on her back. “Come now, Ella,” he said, his voice filled with the kind of affection Anatasia hadn’t heard in months.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9Y9s5tCC3
Cinderella, her mother called her a few moments later, during introductions. “But we’ll call you Ella, darling. So much easier.”
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSNMal0NRq
Ella nodded politely. She didn’t speak much. She didn’t cry either. Just stood in her perfectly ironed dress with her hands clasped in front of her like a painted doll.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsGFGnvFxC
Anatasia hated how beautiful she looked.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqtPGBhrxg
Not in a jealous way—not yet—but in a distant, haunting way. Like someone who didn’t belong here. Like someone who was made for prettier places. Brighter rooms.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzIuSpnIlT
Dinner was quiet that night. Victor told stories. Her mother laughed a little too hard. Ella smiled politely, cutting her food neatly, as if every bite was a silent performance.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyfZHbeUsE
Anatasia didn’t say much. She just watched.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzJf1IeDL3
Every glance between Ella and Victor.
Every time her mother adjusted her necklace.
Every time the chair at the head of the table was avoided like a ghost no one wanted to speak of.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWMFTaD8S6
That night, in the quiet of her room, Anatasia stared at her reflection. She brushed her hair slowly, listening to the tick of the clock on her vanity.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rYU9ipdM8
A new girl had entered the house.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9dRgiC4OM
Beautiful. Gentle. Perfect.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvhqSd4c2e
And for the first time, Anatasia felt it—the unfamiliar sting of being replaced.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndYqmqqb9H
She didn’t hate Cinderella.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpI9OUipbc
Not yet.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSvcyWypiU
But she feared her.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JVEMRxroW
Because something told her this girl wasn’t just her
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznaNtJx0Ka
e to stay...
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTODpRtbz8
She was here to take everything.
ns216.73.216.150da2
and then Add to home screen.